EMP not a significant threat to US nuclear plants, say industry, NRC

摘要

Contrary to claims in a recent report, US nuclear power plants would be able to safely shut and maintain core and spent fuel cooling after an attack on the US with nuclear weapons generating electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, according to industry and NRC spokesmen. US nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War revealed that EMP - short, highfrequency bursts of electromagnetic energy from nuclear explosions - could severely damage or destroy electrical and electronic equipment and components of the electric grid itself. Some analysts have warned that an EMP attack on the US could possibly incapacitate the electric grid nationwide for weeks or months, devastating the country's economy. The 2018 report of Air University's Electromagnetic Defense Task Force, issued November 28, recommended that the first priority in preparing for a possible EMP attack should be what they called "nuclear power resilience."